People look at the destroyed weapons of forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi on Wednesday after a coalition air strike on the road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah. [Photo/Agencies]

TRIPOLI, Libya - A defiant Muammar Gadhafi said Western powers attacking Libya will end up in the dustbin of history as allied leaders mulled their next steps on Wednesday, the fifth day of military strikes on the north African country.

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Early on Wednesday, coalition air strikes were launched overnight near the city of Misrata, east of Tripoli.

"We will win this battle," Gadhafi told supporters at his Bab Al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli, his first public appearance since the air strikes began.

An American admiral signaled a possible new phase in the air campaign could be attacks on Gadhafi's advancing tanks.

Rebels say Gadhafi's tanks have kept up their shelling of the rebel-held town of Misrata in the west, killing dozens of people, and have also been attacking the small town of Zintan near the border with Tunisia.

"Some of those cities still have tanks advancing on them," said Rear Admiral Peg Klein, commander of the expeditionary strike group aboard the USS Kearsarge off Libya, adding "we are authorized, and the president made the nexus between the Security Council resolution and what he considers our legal mandate to attack those tanks. So that is the type of target that our strike aircraft will go at."

While Western air power has grounded Gadhafi's warplanes and pushed back his forces from the brink of rebel stronghold Benghazi, his forces have been besieging Libyan rebel holdouts.

In the east of Libya, disorganized and poorly equipped rebel fighters failed to capitalize on the air campaign and are pinned down.

The rebels have been unable to dislodge Gadhafi's forces from the key junction of Ajdabiyah in the east, while government tanks are besieging the last big rebel hold-out of Misrata. There is a big risk of stalemate on the ground, analysts say.

At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn on Wednesday. The roar of a warplane was heard above the city followed by a barrage of anti-aircraft gunfire.

"We will not surrender," Gaddafi earlier told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his compound.

"We will defeat them by any means ... We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one ... We will be victorious in the end," he said in a live television broadcast.

"This assault ... is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history," Gaddafi said in the speech followed by fireworks as crowds cheered and supporters fired guns into the air.

The Libyan government denies its army is conducting any offensive operations and says troops are only defending themselves when they come under attack.

Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya and more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired in the United Nations-mandated mission "to protect Libyan civilians" against government troops.

US President Barack Obama said the allies should be able to announce soon that they have achieved the objective of creating the no-fly zone.

"We will continue to support the efforts to protect the Libyan people. But we will not be in the lead," Obama said.

Obama, facing questions at home about the Libyan mission, duration and cost, wants the US to give up operational control of enforcing the no-fly zone within days.

Obama spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday and they agreed NATO should play an important role in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone, the White House said.

France had been against a NATO role for fear of alienating Arab support, while Turkey had also opposed the alliance taking command as it said air strikes had already overstepped what was authorized by the United Nations. But both countries' objections had been overcome, US officials said.

The plan is for NATO's command structure to be used for the operations under the political leadership of a "steering body" made up of Western and Arab nations that are members of the alliance policing Libya's skies, diplomats said. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said foreign ministers of countries taking part in military action in Libya were set to meet in the coming days to create a clear political structure for operations.

AFP contributed to this story.

Reuters